Big Changes Coming for Massachusetts Superior Court and District Court Civil Cases
Significant backlogs and bottlenecks at the state court level, resulting in civil cases that can drag on for three or more years, have caused the Massachusetts’ Supreme Judicial Court to increase the procedural amounts for cases filed in state District Courts and the Boston Municipal Court from $25,000 to $50,000. The expectation […]
When Seeking Coverage As An Additional Insured: Tips, Misconceptions, & Avoidable Pitfalls
By: Kenney & Sams, P.C.
You’re a general contractor. Your subcontractor does defective work that results in property damage and a lawsuit against you by the owner. Must you defend against the owner’s claims, and could you bear the ultimate costs to repair the property?
You’re a commercial property owner. Your tenant’s employee is injured on the job. She […]
What Employers Need to Know about the New Massachusetts Paid Family and Medical Leave Law
By: Kenney & Sams, P.C.
Last year, Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker signed the Massachusetts Paid Family and Medical Leave Act (PFML) into law. This new law significantly changes the landscape for employers in Massachusetts.
Summary of the New Law
The PFML gives certain eligible employees access to paid leave benefits, beginning in 2021. They can start claiming PFML benefits for bonding with a […]
The Meaning Behind the ‘Your Work’ Insurance Coverage Exclusion
By: Kenney & Sams, P.C.
In All America Insurance Company vs. Lampasona Concrete Corporation, the Massachusetts Appeals Court recently held that while the ‘your work’ exclusion to comprehensive general liability (CGL) insurance coverage precluded coverage for repairing the insured’s defective work performed on one flooring layer during a construction project, the exclusion did not preclude coverage for damages that the insured’s […]
Due Process Guarantees Apply to Firearms Regulations
By: Kenney & Sams, P.C.
Few public policy issues generate such polarized viewpoints as efforts to regulate firearms. Firearm owners through national organizations such as the NRA and locally through the Gun Owners’ Action League do not hesitate to express their views on gun regulation, while those favoring greater regulation have recently become more vocal and organized pursuing their goals. Regardless […]
Gender Identity And The Equal Pay Act
By: Kenney & Sams, P.C.
Effective June 30, 2018, the Massachusetts Legislature enacted the Equal Pay Act, which prohibits employers from paying an employee less than “employees of a different gender for comparable work.” This new law, replacing a 1945 statute rendered ineffectual by decades of judicial narrowing, reinvigorated a key tool in redressing and reversing the systemic underpayment in the […]
OSHA’s New Standard for Confined Spaces in Construction
By: Kenney & Sams, P.C.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has published standards governing Confined Spaces in Construction (29 C.F.R. 1926, Subpart AA) (“Confined Spaces Standards”), to provide added protections to employees performing work in confined spaces. Specifically, spaces (a) large enough for a worker to enter with (b) limited or restricted means of entry of exit and (c) […]
Pregnant Workers Fairness Act: What Every Employer Should Know
By: Kenney & Sams, P.C.
As the new year begins, it is an ideal time for employers to assess whether their policies and procedures are compliant with Massachusetts laws—including the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. It goes without saying that most companies will, at one point or another, have an employee who is pregnant or who experiences a condition related to pregnancy. […]
OSHA Standards Impermissibly Applied to Construction Employers are Held Invalid1
By: Kenney & Sams, P.C.
The United States Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Review Commission has ruled that the Secretary of Labor impermissibly applied certain OSHA standards to construction employers. On September 28, 2018, the Commission vacated an OSHA citation issued to Kiewit for allegedly violating the “quick-drenching” standard in 29 C.F.R. s 1926.50(g). The Commission held that the […]
Massachusetts Employer Not Allowed To Enforce Non-Compete Against Its California Employee
By: Kenney & Sams, P.C.
On September 7, 2018, the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts (“SJC”) issued a decision in Oxford Global Resources, LLC v. Hernandez, holding that a Massachusetts employer could not enforce a confidentiality, non-competition, and non-solicitation agreement against a former California employee. Despite the explicit language in the agreement that it was governed by Massachusetts law and that […]